WATERLOO – Two psychology professors from Wilfrid Laurier University have been awarded Canada Research Chairs, bringing $1 million in research support to the university.

Dr. Philip Servos was granted a second five-year term as Laurier’s Canada Research Chair (CRC) in cognitive neuroscience. Dr. Anne Wilson was named the CRC in social psychology. Each of their Tier-Two appointments provides $500,000 in research support over five years.

“We are extremely pleased to see that Dr. Servos’ Canada Research Chair has been renewed,” said Dr. Paul Maxim, Laurier’s associate vice-president: research. “Dr. Servos and his colleagues are among Canada’s premier researchers in the cognitive neuroscience area, and this CRC renewal reconfirms that status.”

Through his research, Servos examines how our brains process information from our senses. He uses functional magnetic resonance imaging as well as neuropsychological techniques to examine these processes. The work of Servos and his colleagues is gaining national and international recognition, and opens the door to a range of interventions into brain and sensory dysfunctions. Servos is also supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council.

Wilson’s research is also on the leading edge, Maxim said.

“Dr. Wilson’s new CRC appointment will go a long way to putting Laurier at the forefront of research in her area of expertise,” he said.

Wilson’s research examines how people identify with their future selves: as an older version of their current self or as a stranger. She studies how this perception influences decisions where the short-term and long-term consequences of people’s choices are at odds, specifically in areas such as health, fitness, finance and the environment. For example, although the long-term benefits of regular physical activity far outweigh the short-term costs (e.g. inconvenience), a majority of Canadians still do not exercise enough.

“Wilson’s research will offer insight into why people make non-optimal decisions in important life domains, and help them to make beneficial choices,” said Maxim.

Wilson also receives support from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

The Canada Research Chairs program is part of a national strategy to make Canada one of the world’s top five countries for research and development. The program invests $300 million a year to attract and retain world-renowned researchers. Tier two chairs, tenable for five years and renewable once, are for exceptional emerging researchers, acknowledged by their peers as having the potential to lead in their field. For more information, visit www.chairs.gc.ca.